26-year-old Shaanxi woman has been tied to a tree for more than 20 years

Zhang Yanrong, a 26-year-old woman in Shaanxi has been strapped to a tree outside her home for more than 20 years. Her parents tied her there when she was little to prevent her injuring herself after a childhood accident rendered her mentally disabled, Oriental Daily reports.She became mentally handicapped after the injury, and could not recognize the way home. Her parents took her to many doctors, but couldn’t afford the medical fees. And so it was decided that tying her to a tree was the only solution.Her neighbor stated that Zhang wasn’t violent or unstable, just slow. “She has been lost several times and roping her up is the only way,” says her neighbor.Her 60-year-old mother said that her daughter never resisted being tied up. She was worried no one would take care of her daughter if she and her husband passed away.Tying up the mentally disabled is actually quite common in many rural areas of China, where they can’t afford medical care, and attitudes towards the handicapped seem medieval at best.[Image Via On.cc]By Christy Lau